Container or dispenser with a decorative sleeve

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an article of manufacture comprising a container or dispenser having a top, at least one sidewall, a bottom and an interior volume. The at least one sidewall joins the top to the bottom, and the top, the sidewall and bottom define the interior volume capable of holding at least one product. The sidewall has an exterior surface which is covered by an outer sheet component sleeve. At least a major portion of the exterior surface of the sidewall is covered by the outer sheet component sleeve. The outer sheet component sleeve has at least one graphic, image or decorative design located thereon and the outer sheet component has at least one shrinkable polymeric film layer. Also, located within the interior volume is product contained or dispensed from the container or dispenser.

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 USC § 119(e)from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/813,477, which was filed Jun.13, 2006, entitled “Container or Dispenser With A Decorative OuterSleeve”.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a container or dispenser having asleeve containing a graphic, an image and/or a decorative design.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The outer surfaces of containers or dispensers of products, inparticular consumer products, are often provided with graphics,decorative designs informative information or a combination thereof. Oneexample of such containers and dispensers are those containers which areused for dispensing facial tissue. Facial tissue dispensers are oftenpreprinted with graphics, decorative designs and/or informativeinformation for consumers, users and non-users to view. Since thesedispensers are generally placed throughout the home, consumers oftendesire that the dispensers have an aesthetically pleasing design whichwill blend in with the décor of the consumer's home or place of use.Facial tissue containers or dispensers are generally in the form of acarton, which is typically made from paperboard. These cartons aregenerally flat upon arrival to the manufacturer or packager of thetissue, formed into a container or dispenser by the tissue manufactureror packager, and loaded with the facial tissue and sealed by the facialtissue manufacturer or packager. Typically, the cartons arrive at thesite of manufacture of the facial tissue or the site of packaging of thefacial tissue with the graphics, decorative designs and/or informationbeing already preprinted on the paperboard cartons. While these cartonsare very functional in dispensing facial tissue, these cartons are oftenaesthetically limited and may be aesthetically unappealing to someconsumers. As a result, it is often necessary for the manufacturer orpackager of these dispensing cartons to produce several differentgraphic designs to ensure acceptance by a wide variety of consumers.Even with the several different designs being available, consumers aswell as retailers are provided with a limited number of designs.

Another method of providing containers or dispensers of consumerproducts with graphics or informative information is to provide andapply a label to the outer surface of the container or dispenser.Currently, labels which are paper-based or polymeric film-based arebeing used. While labels may provide the manufacturer or packager ofconsumer products with an easy way to provide information on a containeror dispenser of consumer products, often labels are found to beunattractive by consumers since, in most cases, the label only covers aportion of the outer surface of the container or dispenser or onlyprovide information. As a result, labels are often found to beunattractive to consumers, unless the labels are applied to a containeror dispenser with additional graphics or decorative designs beingapplied to the container or dispenser.

In addition, during particular holidays and seasons of a given calendaryear, it may be advantageous for the manufacturer or packager ofconsumer products to provide products which are seasonal or are relatedto the particular holiday time of the year. For example, during thespring, it may be desirable to provide to consumers spring relatedgraphics or decorative designs on the containers or dispensers ofconsumer products, such as flowers. Likewise, during the Christmasseason, providing Christmas ornaments or other Christmas related scenesmay be advantageous to the manufacturer or packager of the consumerproducts.

In the prior methods of producing containers or dispensers for consumerproducts, there is not a way provided which will allow the manufactureror packager of the consumer products to change the graphics ordecorative designs on short notice to meet demands for particulargraphics or decorative designs. In the prior methods, the manufacturertypically orders or produces the cartons or dispensers with the graphicsor designs prior to loading the consumer product into the container ordispenser. There is a need in the art to provide a container ordispenser of consumer products, which allows the manufacturer orpackager a convenient and fast way to provide a wide variety of graphicsto retailers and consumers, to meet demands of the consumers. Inaddition, there is a need in the art to allow a retailer or a consumerto select graphics or decorative designs on containers of consumerproducts, such as facial tissue, that will meet the desires or needs ofthe consumer and/or retailer. Further, there is a need in the art toreduce the number of containers in the normal supply chain which have“out-of-date” graphics or designs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Generally stated, the present invention provides an article ofmanufacture comprising a container or dispenser having a top, at leastone sidewall, a bottom and an interior volume. The at least one sidewalljoins the top to the bottom, and the top, the sidewall and bottom definethe interior volume capable of holding at least one product. Thesidewall has an exterior surface which is covered by an outer sheetcomponent sleeve. At least a major portion of the exterior surface ofthe sidewall is covered by the outer sheet component sleeve. The outersheet component sleeve has at least one graphic, image or decorativedesign located thereon and the outer sheet component has at least oneshrinkable polymeric film layer. Also, located within the interiorvolume is the product contained or dispensed from the container ordispenser.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the outer sheet component ofthe container or dispenser has at least two separate layers. In oneparticular embodiment of the present invention, the outer component hastwo layers, and these two layers are a first layer and a second layer.The first layer has the graphic, image or decorative design appliedthereto and the second layer comprises the shrinkable polymeric film.The first layer may be a polymeric film-based material or paper-basedmaterial. In addition the first layer is adjacent the exterior surfaceof the container or dispenser and the second layer is adjacent the firstlayer. The second layer serves to protect the first layer and thegraphic, image or decorative design imparted to the first layer.

In a different embodiment of the present invention, the shrinkable filmhas the graphic, image or decorative design applied thereto. In oneaspect of this embodiment of the invention, the shrinkable film isprinted on an interior side of the film where the interior side of thefilm is the side of the shrinkable film which is adjacent the containeror dispenser sidewall.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the present inventionrelates to a facial tissue dispenser. The facial tissue dispenser has atop, at least one sidewall, a bottom and an interior volume. Thesidewall joins the top to the bottom. The top, the sidewall and bottomdefine the interior volume capable of holding a plurality of facialtissues. The sidewall has an exterior surface which is covered by anouter sheet component sleeve. At least a major portion of the exteriorsurface of the sidewall is covered by the outer sheet component sleeve.The outer sheet component sleeve has at least one graphic, image ordecorative design located thereon and the outer sheet component has atleast one shrinkable polymeric film layer.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the outer sheet component ofthe facial tissue dispenser has at least two separate layers. In oneparticular embodiment of the present invention, the outer component hastwo layers, and these two layers are a first layer and a second layer.The first layer has the graphic, image or decorative design appliedthereto and the second layer comprises the shrinkable polymeric film.The first layer may be a polymeric film-based material or paper-basedmaterial. In addition the first layer is adjacent the exterior surfaceof the container or dispenser and the second layer is adjacent the firstlayer. The second layer serves to protect the first layer and thegraphic, image or decorative design imparted to the first layer.

In a further embodiment of the present invention as it relates to thefacial tissue dispenser, the shrinkable film has the graphic, image ordecorative design applied thereto. In one aspect of this embodiment ofthe invention, the shrinkable film is printed on an interior side of thefilm where the interior side of the film is the side of the shrinkablefilm which is adjacent the sidewall of the facial tissue dispenser.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the container ordispenser of the present invention may be prepared from paperboard.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a cut-away top perspective view of a container of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 shows a top plan view of the container or dispenser component ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B show sectional views of the construction of thebottom and side wall connection of a container or dispenser component ofthe present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of the construction of the top andsidewall of a container or dispenser component of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows graphics, images or decorative designs imprinted on theinterior surface of the shrinkable film.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the present invention where a firstlayer contains the graphics, images or decorative designs.

FIG. 7 shows a method of placing the shrinkable film around thecontainer or dispenser.

DEFINITIONS

It should be noted that, when employed in the present disclosure, theterms “comprises”, “comprising” and other derivatives from the root term“comprise” are intended to be open-ended terms that specify the presenceof any stated features, elements, integers, steps, or components, andare not intended to preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, elements, integers, steps, components, or groupsthereof.

As used herein, the terminology such as “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”,“bottom”, “front”, “back”, “end” and “sides” are referenced according tothe views presented. It should be understood, however, that the termsare used only for purposes of description, and are not intended to beused as limitations. Accordingly, orientation of an object or acombination of objects may change without departing from the scope ofthe invention. As a point of reference for the claims and in the presentspecification, the term “top” refers to a panel or side of the packagewith an opening device or opening.

As used herein, the term “blank” in the context of blank containers orblank dispensers is intended to mean a container or dispenser with aportion of at least one surface is not provided with a graphic, image ordecorative design, so that a graphic, image or decorative design may beapplied to the container or dispenser. A blank may be completely devoidof graphics or have only a portion of the container or dispenser devoidof graphic, images or decorative design. As used herein, the term“blank” means a container or dispenser which does not have the outersheet component applied thereto.

As used herein, the term “opening” refers to a portion of the topsurface which allows a user to access the product housed within theinterior volume of the container or dispenser of the present invention.

As used herein, the term “consumer products” is intended to meanproducts which include durable and non-durable goods which are purchasedby or for a user of the products. Consumer products are intended toinclude, by way of example only, health and hygiene items, includingabsorbent personal care articles, facial and bath tissue, and dry andwet wipes and the like. The product may be cellulosic based products,meaning that the products contain cellulose fibers.

As used herein, the phrase “absorbent personal care articles” refers todevices which absorb and contain liquids which may be placed against ornear the skin to absorb and contain the various liquids discharged fromthe body. Examples of personal care products include, for example,diapers, training pants, absorbent underpants, adult incontinenceproducts, sanitary wipes and feminine hygiene products such as sanitarynapkins and tampons.

The term “disposable” is used herein to describe products that are notintended to be laundered or otherwise restored or reused as an absorbentarticle after a single use.

As used herein, the term “external side surface” refers to an outer sidesurface of the container or dispenser which typically faces away fromthe products which are contained within the container or dispenser. Thesurface may be a sidewall, a top or bottom of the container ordispenser. Depending on the shape of the container or dispenser, thenumber of surfaces may be different for each shape. For example, agenerally cylindrical or oval carton would have three external surfaces,a continuous side surface, the top surface and the bottom surface. Acubical box would have six external side surfaces, including the topsurface, the bottom surface and four sidewall surfaces.

As used herein, the term “container” is intended to mean an articlewhich is capable of holding a product. Also as used herein, the term“dispenser” is intended to mean a container which will also dispense theproduct from the container.

As used herein, the phrase “graphic, image or decorative design” isintended to cover a wide variety of items which may be placed on thearticle of manufacture. The term “graphic” is intended to mean featureswhich are generally repeated in a pattern or other features such as amonogram. For example, a repeated pattern of an object is intended to bea graphic. The term “image” generally means a picture, such as aphotograph or a painting, but could include other picture-like itemssuch as a silhouette or other similar feature. The term “decorativedesign” is intended to mean a design which is neither a graphic nor animage per se; however, a decorative design could be the combination of agraphic or pattern.

As used herein, the term “polymer” or “polymeric” generally includes butis not limited to, homopolymers, copolymers, such as for example, block,graft, random and alternating copolymers, terpolymers, etc. and blendsand modifications thereof. Furthermore, unless otherwise specificallylimited, the term “polymer” shall include all possible geometricalconfigurations of the material. These configurations include, but arenot limited to isotactic, syndiotactic and random symmetries.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description of the present invention,reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof,and in which is shown by way of illustration, specific embodiments inwhich the inventions may be practiced. These embodiments are describedin sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice theinvention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may beutilized and that mechanical, procedural, and other changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in alimiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined onlyby the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents towhich such claims are entitled.

The container or dispenser component of the present invention may beformed in many different shapes and sizes without departing from thescope of the present invention. In the described embodiment of thepresent invention, the container or dispenser has a generally circularor oval shape. Other shapes may be used for the container of the presentinvention without departing from the scope of the present invention,including, for example, a cubical container or dispenser, aparallelepiped container or dispenser or other shape which is capable ofholding and dispensing products from the container or dispensercomponent.

To obtain a better understanding of the present invention, attention isdirected to FIG. 1. Shown in FIG. 1 is a container or dispenser 10 ofthe present invention. The container or dispenser 10 has a top 12, abottom 14, and at least one sidewall 16. The sidewall 16 serves to joinor connect the top 12 to the bottom 14. The sidewall 16 may be directlyor indirectly joined to the top wall and the sidewall 16 may be directlyor indirectly joined to the bottom. By “directly joined” it is intendedthat the top 12 and sidewall 16 or the bottom 14 and sidewall 16 are indirect contact with one another. By “indirectly joined” it is intendedthat another member or structure is used to join the top 12 to thesidewall 16, or the bottom 14 to the sidewall 16. In addition, the top12, the bottom 14 and the sidewall 16 forming the container or dispenser10 also define an interior volume 11 of the container. Located withinthe interior volume 11 is a product 22, which is shown as a facialtissue product in FIG. 1. As is shown in FIG. 1, the product 22 may beplaced in the interior volume 11 of the dispenser or container 10 suchthat the product 22 may be dispensed via pop-up dispensing.

The dispenser 10 can further include an opening 42. The opening isnormally located in the top 12, but the opening can be optionallylocated in the sidewall 16 or the bottom 14. The opening 42 allowsaccess to the product 22 stored within the container or dispenser 10.The opening may be a reach-in opening or a dispensing opening. Areach-in opening requires the user to reach into the opening of thecontainer or dispenser to access the product therein. A dispensingopening, which is shown in FIG. 1, allows the product 22 inside thecontainer or dispenser 10 to be removed from the container or dispenserwithout the user reaching into the interior volume of the container ordispenser 10. Typically, dispensing openings require the user to reachinto the interior volume of the container or dispenser to feed the firstproduct from the dispenser or container 10. Alternatively, a tab or link(not shown) to the first product in the container or dispenser may befed through the opening so that the consumer or user can feed the firstproduct without the need to reach into the interior volume 11 to accessthe first product. Once the first product 22 is fed through thedispensing opening, the next product in a stack of products 23 to bedispensed is positioned within the opening, as shown in FIG. 1. This maybe accomplished by techniques known to those skilled in the art, such asinterleaving the individual products using known folding techniques,such as V-folding, Z-folding and the like. For a description of thesefolding techniques, attention is directed to U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,700issued to Nelson, which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

The dispensing opening 42 can optionally include a dispensing window 44.The dispensing window 44 can be prepared from a suitable material suchas a film, nonwoven, or paper material that can retain a partiallydispensed product 22, such as a facial tissue, within the opening 42 forpop-up dispensing. The dispensing window can have a dispensing orifice45 that can be a slit; a curvilinear line; a geometric shape such as anoval, a circle, or a triangle; or an X-shaped, a plus sign shaped or anH-shaped orifice. Alternatively, the dispensing window 44 can beeliminated and fingers or tabs projecting into the dispensing opening 42can be used to retain a partially dispensed sheet 22.

The dispensing opening 42 can be any size or shape such as square,circular, or oval. The opening 42 generally will be larger in size for areach-in container and smaller in size for a pop-up dispenser. Thecontainer or dispenser 10 can further include an optional removablesurfboard or cover 46, shown in FIG. 2 that can be attached to thedispenser 10 by a perforated or weakened line 47. The removable cover 46can be used to prevent foreign materials from entering the filleddispenser and provides protection for the more fragile dispensing window44 during loading and shipping.

The dispenser can be made from suitable materials that include, withoutlimitation, cardboard; carton stock; paper board; thermoplasticmaterials such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, ABS plastic;metal, wood, and glass, amongst other suitable alternatives. In the caseof tissues, generally the container or dispenser is prepared with acarton stock, paper board or a thermoplastic material due to cost andaesthetic value which may be provided by these materials.

In one embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the container or dispenser 10 has agenerally oval shape and includes a formed oval sidewall 16 and bottom14 which may be made from carton stock or paperboard. The bottom 14 canbe either essentially even with the lower end of the sidewall 16′, as isshown in FIG. 3A or recessed from the lower end of the side wall 16′, asis shown in FIG. 3B. The upper end of the sidewall 16″ may be foldedover on the inside of the container or dispenser 10 to form an edge orlip 17, as is shown in FIG. 4. The container or dispenser 10 includes asnap-in top 12 having an outer ring 48 formed from a plastic materialthat is molded around a paperboard center portion 54 containing thedispensing opening 42, optional dispensing window 44, and optionalremovable cover 46. A flange on the outer ring 48 engages with the edgeor lip on the interior of the sidewall 16 to secure the top 12 in place,as is shown in FIG. 4. If desired, the outer ring 48 can include astacking lip 56 for use with a recessed bottom 14 to nest or interlockvertically stacked dispensers. Similar tops are described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/021,317, filed on Dec. 22, 2004, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

Alternative methods of constructing the container or dispenser 10 mayalso be used. For example, a carton blank can be utilized. The cartonblank can comprise a plurality of panels that are folded, assembled, andglued to form a dispenser. Injection molding or thermoforming can beused to form the dispenser. Other techniques known to those of skill inthe art can be utilized to make the container or dispenser 10.

In one embodiment of the present invention, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, thecontainer or dispenser 10 has an overall height Hd, and overall length,Ld, measured along a longitudinal axis 18, and an overall width, Wd,measured along a transverse axis 19. The dispenser is oblong with thedimension for Ld greater than the dimension for Wd. In the oneembodiment, the top and bottom (12, 14) comprise an oval shape and thedispenser has an overall length, Ld, of about 6 inches and an overallwidth, Wd, of about 4 inches. This results in an oval container ordispenser 10 that is visually striking and an alternately shapeddispenser compared to the cubical or rectangular (parallelepiped) boxesbeing currently offered for sale.

In the present invention, the container or dispenser 10 is provided withan outer sheet component 80, which serves to provide a graphics, imagesor decorative visual effects 90 to the at least one side wall 16. Thisouter sheet component 80 covers a majority of the exterior surface ofthe at least one side wall 16. By a majority of the exterior surface, itis intended that at least 50% of the exterior surface area of theexterior surface of the at least one side wall 16 is covered by theouter sheet component. Ideally, the outer sheet component 80 covers atleast 75% of the exterior surface area of the sidewall 16 and desirablyat least 95% of the exterior surface area of the sidewall 16. In oneparticular embodiment of the present invention, the outer sheetcomponent 80 covers 100% of the exterior surface of the sidewall 16. Theouter sheet component may also extend beyond the side wall 16 topartially or fully cover the top 12 and/or bottom 16.

In the present invention, the outer sheet component 80 may have a singlelayer or may be multilayered. In either case, at least one layer of theouter sheet component should contain a polymeric film layer and thatpolymeric film layer should be shrinkable upon the application of heator energy, such as microwave energy, to the film. Shrinkable films areknown to those skilled in the art and can be prepared from a widevariety of polymer resins. Suitable resins which can be used to preparethe shrinkable film layer of the outer sheet component include, but arenot limited to, for example, polyolefin resins, polyamide resins, cyclicolefin resins, polyvinyl chloride resins, thermoplastic polyester resinsand polystyrene resins. Of these polymeric materials, films preparedfrom thermoplastic polyester resins and polyvinylchloride resins aregenerally desired since these resins tend to provide the best desiredproperties including, for example, transparency, printability, degree offirmness, gloss, and ease of processing. In the present invention,heat-shrinkable films are desirable from the standpoint of ease of use.

Heat-shrinkable films can be prepared by methods known to those skilledin the art and are commercially available. For example, aheat-shrinkable film is typically prepared by heat-stretching in themachine direction a polymeric film prepared from the polymer resinsdisclosed above. Heat-stretching is stretching of the polymeric filmwhile applying heat to the film. The polymeric film is annealed andcooled in the stretched state and wound onto a roll. When heat or energyis applied to the film, the film will shrink in the direction it wasstretched to return towards, but not to its unstretched condition. Theheat shrinkage techniques, including temperature and other conditionsused in the present invention may be techniques known to those skilledin the art and may be adjusted by suitably selecting the resiningredients, film thickness, extrusion temperature, draw ratio, take-offtemperature, preliminary heating conditions, stretch ratio, stretchrate, stretch temperature, annealing conditions and cooling conditionsfor film production. Optionally, the film may be stretched in thecross-machine direction as well. In the present invention,heat-shrinkable polymeric films are particularly useable in the presentinvention due to their ease of use.

In the present invention, the outer sheet component 80 may be a singlelayer shrinkable film prepared for one or more of the polymer resinsdescribed above. Optionally, the outer sheet component 80 may be amultilayer component, provided that one of the layers has a shrinkablefilm. The additional layers of the sheet component may be otherpolymeric films, which are also shrinkable. Since the shrinkingcharacteristics of the films may be different, having more than oneshrinkable layer may result in differential shrinking of the layers,resulting in an aesthetically undesirable container or dispenser.Therefore, care must be used if more than one shrinkable layer is usedin the outer sheet component 80. As a result, it is generally desirablethat only a single shrinkable film layer is used in the outer sleevecomponent of the present invention.

The graphics, images or decorative designs 90 or aesthetically pleasingdesigns appearing on the container or dispenser 10 of the presentinvention may be imparted in a number of ways. In one method, theshrinkable film making up the outer sheet component has a graphic, imageor decorative design imprinted on one of the surfaces of the shrinkablefilm of the outer component 80. In this regard, attention is directed toFIG. 5. The shrinkable film 81 has an interior surface 82 and anexterior surface 83, wherein the exterior surface forms the outersurface of the article of the present invention and the interior surfaceof the shrinkable film faces the exterior surface of the sidewall 16 ofthe dispenser or container 10. Generally, the shrinkable films aretransparent or translucent and do not have any color other than beingclear. Alternatively, the shrinkable film may be colored. The graphic,image or decorative design may be coated or imparted to the shrinkablefilm using methods known to those skilled in the art, including, forexample, inkjet printing, gravure printing or flexographic printing. Theprinting may be completed in a single layer or by printing a series oflayers. In addition, a solid color may be applied to the film to providea base color for the printed graphic, image or decorative design. Thegraphic, image or decorative design 90 may be imparted on the exteriorsurface 83 of the shrinkable film or may be imparted on interior surface82 of the shrinkable film. From a standpoint of durability, it isdesirable that the interior 82 surface of the shrinkable film 81 beimparted with the graphic, image or decorative design, as is shown inFIG. 5. When the graphic, image or decorative design 90 is on theinterior surface 82 of the shrinkable film 81, the shrinkable film 81will serve to protect the graphic, image or decorative design 90 fromdamage due to use of the container or dispenser, being contacted withother objects or moving the container or dispenser from one location toanother location.

Any type of ink may be used to imprint the shrinkable film, providedthat the ink is not susceptible to degradation when heat or energy isapplied to the ink. Both metallic and non-metallic inks may be used inthe present invention to imprint the film with a graphic, image ordecorative design. In addition to conventional inks, inks with specialproperties, such as, glow in the dark properties, may also be used.Generally, the entire surface of the shrinkable film may be printed;however, it is possible to print only a portion of the film. Forexample, 50% of the film surface may be printed. Typically, at least 80%or 90% of shrinkable film surface will be printed. Alternatively, asmaller portion of the film may be printed, if desired. For example, asubstantially smaller portion of the shrinkable film may be printed, ifdesired, such as if the desired printing is a monogram or the like.

In addition to placing graphics, images or a decorative design on thecontainer or dispenser, other features may be provided on the containeror dispenser. For example, the outside of the surface of the outer sheetcomponent may be imparted with other features, such as a scent, odorcontrol, a texture, an RFID tag or the like. Optionally, the insidesurface of the outer sheet component could also be provided with thesefeatures

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, shown in FIG. 6,the shrinkable film 81 is not imprinted with a graphic, image ordecorative design. Instead, the graphic, image or decorative designlayer containing a graphic, image or decorative design 90 is printedonto a first layer 84 which is placed on the outer surface of the sidewall 16 of the container or dispenser 10. This first layer 84 may beprepared from a polymeric film material, a paper based material oranother similar layer which may be applied to the at least one side wall16. This first layer 84 may be adhesively mounted to the exteriorsurface of the side wall 16 or just wrapped around the exterior surfaceof the side wall and held into place by the shrinkable film 81. In thiscase, the shrinkable film 81 may be free of graphic, image or decorativedesigns, or may contain an additional or complementary decorativedesign. In one particular embodiment of the present invention, the firstlayer is a printed paper layer and the second layer is the shrinkablepolymeric film applied over the first layer.

To apply the shrinkable film 81 to the container or dispenser 10 of thepresent invention, the shrinkable film 81 is wrapped around thecontainer or dispenser, such that the first end 85 of the film contactsand overlaps the second end 86 of the film, as is shown in FIG. 7. Thisresults in a shrinkable film with a continuous exterior surface 83. Inthe area of overlap 87, a means for holding the two ends of the filmtogether is used. The area of overlap 87 could be placed anywhere alongthe side wall; however, for aesthetic reasons, is it is generally bestto place the area of overlap 87, near an edge, if present, or in thecase of an oval container or dispenser, in the region of the side wallwith the smallest radius of curvature. This will generally prevent theoverlap 87 from being visible in the area of the container which is mostoften viewed by a user, detracting from the aesthetic value of thecontainer or dispenser. Alternatively, in the case of an oval container,as is shown in FIG. 7, the overlap area may be placed on the sidewall inan area which has the largest radius of curvature, which may result in acontainer with a front and a back, with the front being moreaesthetically pleasing to a viewer than the back.

The exterior surface 83 of the second end 86 which will be overlappedwith the first end 85 may be imparted with an adhesive, a double-sticktape or other means that will effectively hold the interior surface 82,first end 85 and the second end 86 of the shrinkable film 81 together.Alternatively, the interior surface 82 of the first end 85 which willoverlap the second end 86 may be imparted with means to hold the twoends together. Generally, if an adhesive is used, the adhesive should beselected from those adhesives that are not adversely affected by theapplication of heat or energy to the adhesive. Solvent based adhesivemay serve well in this application such that the adhesive welds the twoends 85, 86 of the shrinkable films together. Alternatively, theshrinkable film may be formed into a tube-like structure, having acontinuous exterior surface, prior to placing the shrinkable film aroundthe container or dispenser 10. In either case, the shrinkable film oncebrought together should be slightly larger than the circumference of theouter surface of the at least one side wall 16 of the container ordispenser. Generally, the shrinkable film should be 2-10% larger thanthe circumference of the exterior surface of the at least one side wall16. If the circumference is any larger than about 10% of thecircumference of the container or dispenser 10, then the shrinkable filmmay not shrink evenly, causing the container to have an unappealingsurface.

Once the shrinkable film 81 is placed around the exterior surface of thesidewall, then energy is applied to the film to make the shrinkable filmshrink and conform to the container or dispenser. For example, if theshrinkable film is a heat-shrinkable film, the heat-shrinkable film 81is placed around the exterior surface of the sidewall; the film isheated with a suitable heating means, for example, hot air, to shrinkthe film around the container or dispenser. If the film can be shrunk byother means, the other means, such as microwave energy may also be used.The temperature to which the heat-shrinkable film is heated is dependenton several factors, including the type of polymer used to prepare theheat-shrinkable film or the inks used to prepare the graphic, image ordecorative designs on the heat-shrinkable film or otherwise present onthe container or dispenser.

In addition to covering the exterior surface of the sidewall 16 of thecontainer or dispenser 10 of the present invention, the shrinkable filmmay extend beyond the sidewall 16 and partially cover the bottom 14 ortop 12. In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B and 4, the outer sheetcomponent 80 is a shrinkable film which may extend to the top 12 and thebottom 14 of the container or dispenser of the present invention. Byhaving the shrinkable film extend to the top 12 and bottom 14, thedispenser or container has an overall finished appearance as compared tocontainers where the shrinkable film only covers a portion of theexterior surface. In the case where the bottom is recessed, as is shownin FIG. 3B, the shrinkable film may extend beyond the lower edge 16′ ofthe sidewall. This will result in the bottom edge of the film notcontacting the bottom of the container or dispenser, as shown in FIG.3B.

The visual effects achieved by the present invention can be furtherenhanced by providing the exterior surface of the side wall 16 or thefirst layer 84 with a base color which will be visible through theimprinted graphic, image or decorative design present on the shrinkablefilm. In addition, the visual effect can further be enhanced byproviding the exterior surface of the sidewall 16 with a material whichwill produce a three-dimensional effect or produces an actual threedimensional feel. Examples of such materials include metallized filmswhich can be placed between the exterior of the sidewall and theshrinkable film. The metallized films are capable of producingholographic and three dimensional effects. In addition, Fresnel lensesmay also be used to enhance the three-dimensional effect of thegraphics, images or decorative design imprinted on the shrinkable film.Such metallized films are known in the art. One company having theability to produce films containing holographic and/or Fresnel lenses isCobum Graphic Films, Inc., having an office at 1650 Corporate Road West,Lakewood, N.J. 08701. A tissue carton utilizing these films entitledDecorative Film, Carton, And Method Of Making, U.S. Ser. No. 10/374,185filed with the United States Patent Office on Feb. 25, 2003, publishedas U.S. 2004/0166258 A1 on Aug. 25, 2004. This Patent ApplicationPublication is herein incorporated by reference in a manner consistentherewith.

In the present invention, the graphics, images or decorative designsinclude a wide a variety of items. For example, objects that areconsidered decorative in design include flowers, landscapes, cityscapes,pictures of buildings, pictures of people, abstract designs, patterneddesigns, or other similar graphics or designs. The particular designsprovided on the articles of manufacture of the present invention are notcritical to the present invention. Generally, however, it is desirablethat the graphics, images or decorative designs are not offensive tolarge groups of people.

In the present invention, the outer sheet component could be madein-line with the packaging of the products into the container ordispenser or the outer sheet component could be prepared off-line.

The container or dispenser 10 can also include an optional removablefilm overwrap (not shown) to further cover the dispensing opening 42 orouter portion of the dispenser. The film overwrap can be used to displayprinted information, such as a prominent trademark, size of the sheets,the number of sheets, information on how to open the container ordispenser, or patent information, which can later be removed by theconsumer so as to not detract from the graphic, image or decorativedesign of the container or dispenser imparted by the outer sheetcomponent discussed below. This overwrap is in addition to the outersheet component 80.

By providing the container or dispenser of the present invention with agraphic, image or design as described above, many benefits are derived.For example, a manufacturer or packager can easily provide particulardesigns that are popular with a quicker turn around time. Previously,the manufacturer or packager would need to order or produce morecontainers containing a popular pattern if the supplies of the containerbecame in short supply or, in the alternative store more containers ordispensers with the desired graphics, images or decorative designs. Thiscould result in a delay in producing containers or dispensers with thedesired or in-demand graphics, images or decorative design, which inturn would result in a shortage of the desired products with the desiredgraphics, images or decorative designs. In the present invention,generic or plain containers or dispensers could be produced or orderedwhich could be modified with the outer component sleeve using thepresent invention, thereby providing the graphics, images or decorativedesigns needed.

Other advantages include providing a way for a retailer to ordercontainer or dispenser designs it believes would be popular or testingdesigns in a few select stores prior to placing a large order for agiven design. As such, the retailer and manufacturer can easily identifydesigns which might not be well received by consumers, while identifyingothers which might be popular. In addition, the present inventionprovides an easy and economical way to produce short runs of a givendesign or short runs of seasonal graphics without the need of orderinglarge quantities of containers or dispensers.

One major advantage provided by the present invention is that amanufacturer or packager could use the present invention to provide aplurality of different graphics, images or decorative designs onessentially identical dispensers or containers. As such, a plurality of“blank” dispensers or containers could be imparted with a variety ofgraphics, images or decorative designs. Each of the blanks could be thesame or may be different. Generally, all of the blanks will beessentially the same with some minor variations therein. As such, a casecontaining a plurality of the dispensers or containers of the presentinvention could be provided, from the plurality of blanks, but thedispensers or containers would have a plurality of different graphic,image or decorative designs within a given case. Stated another way, thegraphics, images or decorative design on at least one of the outer sheetcomponent sleeves is different from the graphics, images or decorativedesign on at least one other outer sheet component sleeve present in thecase of articles. Ideally, there could be two, three, four or moredifferent graphic, image or decorative designs in a given case. In oneaspect, each dispenser or container in the case could have a differentgraphic, image or decorative design, but each blank carton could be thesame. This would provide a manufacturer or packager of these dispensersor containers with a way to efficiently provide retailers a variety ofdesigns in a given case of dispensers or containers. As a result,consumers would be provided with a variety of designs to select from atthe retail store.

Although the present invention has been described with reference tovarious embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize thatchanges may be made in form and detail without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention. As such, it is intended that the foregoingdetailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limitingand that it is the appended claims, including all equivalents thereof,which are intended to define the scope of the invention.

1. An article of manufacture comprising a container comprising a top, atleast one sidewall, a bottom and an interior volume, the at least onesidewall joins the top to the bottom, and the top, the at least onesidewall and bottom define the interior volume capable of holding atleast one product; wherein the at least one sidewall has an exteriorsurface; at least one product contained within the interior volume; andan outer sheet component sleeve covering at least a major portion of theexterior surface of the at least one sidewall, said outer sheetcomponent sleeve comprising at least one graphic, image or decorativedesign located thereon and the outer sheet component comprises at leastone shrinkable polymeric film.
 2. The article according to claim 1,wherein the top surface of the container comprises an opening, theopening providing a user access to the at least one product containedwithin the interior volume of the container.
 3. The article according toclaim 2, wherein the at least one product comprises a facial tissue. 4.The article according to claim 1, wherein the container comprises asingle sidewall, the single side wall having a curvilinear shape,wherein the container is substantially free of any corners along thecircumference of the single side wall.
 5. The article according to claim4, wherein the curvilinear shape of the side wall comprises a generallyoval shape.
 6. The article according to claim 5, wherein container has aside seam, the side seam being located on a portion of the oval shapewith the smallest radius of curvature.
 7. The article according to claim1, wherein the outer sheet component sleeve comprises at least twolayers.
 8. The article according to claim 7, wherein the outer sheetcomponent sleeve comprises two layers, said two layers comprising afirst layer and a second layer, said first layer comprising the graphic,image or decorative design applied thereto and the second layercomprises the shrinkable polymeric film.
 9. The article according toclaim 8, wherein first layer is adjacent the exterior surface of thecontainer and the second layer is adjacent the first layer.
 10. Thearticle according to claim 9, wherein the first layer comprises a paperbased material.
 11. The article according to claim 7, wherein each outersheet component comprises a graphic, image or decorative designdifferent from the graphics, images or decorative designs of the otherouter sheet component sleeves.
 12. The article according to claim 1,wherein the shrinkable polymeric film comprises the graphic, image ordecorative design printed thereon.
 13. The article according to claim12, wherein the shrinkable polymeric film comprises an interior surfaceand an exterior surface, wherein the interior surface of the shrinkablepolymeric film is adjacent the exterior surface of the sidewall, and theinterior surface of the shrinkable polymeric film comprises the graphic,image or decorative design applied thereto.
 14. The container accordingto claim 1, wherein the shrinkable film is a heat-shrinkable film.
 15. Afacial tissue dispenser comprising, a dispenser comprising a top, atleast one sidewall, a bottom and an interior volume, the at least onesidewall joins the top to the bottom, and the top, the at least onesidewall and bottom define the interior volume capable of holding atleast one product; wherein the at least one side wall has an exteriorsurface; an outer sheet component sleeve covering at least a majorportion of the exterior surface of the at least one sidewall, said outersheet component sleeve comprising at least one graphic, image ordecorative design located thereon and the outer sheet componentcomprises at least one shrinkable polymeric film; and a plurality offacial tissues disposed within the interior volume.
 16. The facialtissue dispenser according to claim 15, wherein the top surface of thedispenser comprises an opening, the opening providing a user access tothe at least one product contained within the interior volume of thedispenser.
 17. The facial tissue dispenser according to claim 15,wherein the dispenser comprises a single sidewall, the single sidewallhaving a curvilinear shape, wherein the dispenser is substantially freeof any corners along the circumference of the single sidewall.
 18. Thefacial tissue dispenser according to claim 17, wherein the curvilinearshape of the side wall comprises a generally oval shape.
 19. The facialtissue dispenser according to claim 15, wherein the outer sheetcomponent sleeve comprises at least two layers.
 20. The facial tissuedispenser according to claim 19, wherein the outer sheet componentsleeve comprises two layers, said two layers comprising a first layerand a second layer, said first layer comprising the graphic, image ordecorative design applied thereto and the second layer comprises theshrinkable polymeric film.
 21. The facial tissue dispenser according toclaim 20, wherein first layer is adjacent the exterior surface of thedispenser and the second layer is adjacent the first layer.
 22. Thefacial tissue dispenser according to claim 21, wherein the first layercomprises a paper based material.
 23. The facial tissue dispenseraccording to claim 15, wherein the shrinkable polymeric film comprisesthe graphic, image or decorative design applied thereto.
 24. The facialtissue dispenser according to claim 23, wherein the shrinkable polymericfilm comprises an interior surface and an exterior surface, wherein theinterior surface is adjacent the exterior surface of the sidewall, andthe interior surface of the film comprises the graphic, image ordecorative design applied thereto.
 25. The facial tissue dispenseraccording to claim 15, wherein the shrinkable film is a heat-shrinkablefilm.
 26. A case of articles comprising a plurality of containersaccording to claim 1, wherein each container is similar to the othercontainers without the outer sheet component sleeve and each containerhas an outer sheet component sleeve on the exterior surface of the sidewall, wherein the graphics, images or decorative design on at least oneof the outer sheet component sleeve is different from the graphics,images or decorative design on at least one other outer sheet componentsleeve present in the case of articles.
 27. The case of articleaccording to claim 26, wherein the graphics, images or decorative designon at least two of the outer sheet component sleeves are different fromthe graphics, images or decorative design on at least one other outersheet component sleeve present in the case of articles.
 28. A case offacial tissue dispensers comprising a plurality of facial tissuedispensers according to claim 15, wherein each facial tissue dispenseris similar to the other containers without the outer sheet componentsleeve and each container has an outer sheet component sleeve on theexterior surface of the side wall, wherein the graphics, images ordecorative design on at least one of the outer sheet component sleeve isdifferent from the graphics, images or decorative design on at least oneother outer sheet component sleeve present in the case of facial tissuedispensers.
 29. The case of facial tissue dispensers according to claim28, wherein the graphics, images or decorative design on at least two ofthe outer sheet component sleeves are different from the graphics,images or decorative design on at least one other outer sheet componentsleeve present in the case of facial tissues dispensers.
 30. The articleof claim 1, wherein the container comprises a dispenser.